Can you start by introducing yourself and sharing an overview of your artistic practice?
I’m Benjamin Phillips and I’m an artist and illustrator based in Hastings. From my studio I work on many different projects straddling the disciplines of fine art and illustration. My practice changed significantly during lockdown 2020 as it was during this time that I decided to focus more on narrative illustration projects and I embarked on my first illustrated graphic novel with the writer Ziggy Hanaor. In 2022 the outcome of this work, Alte Zachen was published by Cicada Books.
What led you to explore ceramics? Was there a specific moment or inspiration that sparked your interest in working with clay?
Back when I lived in London I met a ceramicist, Emma Gaston and she was open to the idea of collaborating with me. She would throw a batch of small terracotta pots and then dip them in a white slip. I’d then come to her studio in Hackney and graffito designs into the dry slip. I would turn up with no real plans and just draw. I was initially intrigued by this process of taking a drawing and turning it into a fired solid artefact. It felt very powerful and a way to elevate and add a new dimension to my drawn works.
How central is narrative to your practice, and how does it shape your work?
When working on picture books and graphic novels, narrative is the core of what I’m focusing on. I work with sequential images, much like the storyboard of a movie. I’m trying to create stories, I often want the viewer to empathise with the characters even if they aren’t of our world. Narrative is still very crucial in my fine art ceramic works. It’s often more abstract though. Stories may become fragmented and characters dispersed and the curation of the work can build scenarios. I sometimes draw stories onto the ceramics though the sequence of events may be disrupted. Often with autobiographical pieces events may be grouped thematically rather than chronologically. When creating my large ceramic heads the work is a single character and it is the viewer’s job to try and construct the story.
Did you receive formal training in ceramics, or did you develop your skills independently?
When I moved to Hastings I attended a ceramic evening class at the college where we were given access to the studios and pretty much left to get on with it. I learnt how to hand build and slip cast and played around with glazes until I found a set of processes that worked for me. It was here that I established a way for me to translate my work to clay. When I make work now I use the ceramic studio, Common Clay in Bexhill.
In what ways do your two-dimensional works, like drawings, influence your three-dimensional creations, and vice versa?
Drawing is always at the heart of what I’m making, for me it is the most immediate way to communicate and always the starting point for work. Sometimes that initial sketch is the most successful attempt at communicating and I’m then trying to emulate that feeling in the final work. Sometimes I’m trying to translate a simple drawing into a three-dimensional form, like with the elephant head. That trunk started its life as a crude drawing and then when it becomes this large thing that’s taking up space it takes on a new life with new problems. I often create structures and then draw back on to them, I feel like drawing can bring back something that may feel like a deviation back into a space that feels familiar.
Where do you typically find inspiration for your art? Are there particular themes or sources that resonate with you?
I’m always open to inspiration and catalogue ideas in sketchbooks and notes. Much of it is quite domestic. Observing my son and partner. Autobiography, family dynamics, anxiety/insecurity/desires, humour/absurdity/surrealism, art history cultural influences, sex, death, visual metaphors, alternate realities. I’m trying to create visions from my own inner world or products and stories that contain these sensibilities. I strive to make work that is both visually and emotionally stimulating. I aspire to stay open to new ideas that I can develop into bigger projects such as picture books and graphic novels.
Can you walk us through your creative process, from concept to completion?
This can vary massively depending on what path an idea takes and whether it is intended to be commercially successful or purely for my own enjoyment. Everything starts with drawing usually in my sketchbook and ideas tend to come when I’m away from my studio. Book ideas are hard for me to generate and then once decisions are made are even slower to bring into reality, I’m still trying to fine tune this practice. Ceramic works are much easier, I have the spark of an idea and then I work it out as I go. I like to start working without everything being fully formed. This gives the work an ethereal quality and it keeps me engaged too.
Where do you create your work? Could you share a bit about your studio or workspace?
I have a studio in Hastings town, it’s a 15 minute walk along the coast from my house and I share the room with my wife Jazmine and our dog Betty. Jazmine is a taxidermist mainly working for natural history institutions, she works on her side and I’m on mine. On my side of the room I have two tables one with my computer and the other is a standing desk that I draw at and Betty sleeps underneath. The rest of the room is taken up with planchests, artwork, materials and stock. The room has a lot of light with three sash windows that look out onto the church. The room is like a greenhouse. Freezing in winter and swelteringly hot in the summer. We’re lucky that in our building there are several other creatives, mainly illustrators who are always around for a coffee and to talk things through if need be.
How would you describe the pieces you’ll be exhibiting at County Hall Pottery Gallery? What do you hope viewers take away from them?
The pieces on show are playful and cryptic. A mix of autobiography and surrealism. They were all made as individual pieces but I hope thematically they come together and feel like relations. I hope viewers can appreciate them on different levels. I see the pieces almost like black comedy, sometimes therapeutic, pondering difficult personal subjects but trying to find joy and acceptance through play.
Do you have preferred techniques or materials you work with in ceramics? What draws you to these approaches?
I frequently use cobalt oxide in my ceramic works. I love the rich history that this pigment has and how it is such a staple within the world of ceramics. Aesthetically it is very striking blue and I like how traditional it is as a convention in ceramics. It’s also quite predictable as oxides go. When spending a long time on a detailed glazed design I want to be confident that the work survive the firing. There have been times when I have spent hours on a complex image just for it to burn away in the kiln, the less this happens the better! I also enjoy underglaze pencils as they enable the joy of drawing to be expressed in ceramic form.
What are you currently working on? Are there any upcoming projects or exhibitions we should look forward to?
My new book One Day written by Michael Rosen is released at the end January 2025 and so I will be doing some public events with Michael to publicise this. I’m really proud of this book and feel like I have a grown a lot as an illustrator from working on this project. I am currently working on a new adult graphic novel with writer Ziggy Hanaor, this is the largest book that I’ve illustrated and will keep me busy for the next few months. After that I hope to take some time to focus more on self initiated project and get back in the Common Clay ceramic studio.